Midnight Cross
by YamiPaladinofChaos
Summary: The endless battle a between wolf and a dragon.


Dictionary- Like most things in this world, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

AN: My first story within the Kenshin universe. Anyway, its about the last time Kenshin and Saitou cross swords before the end of the Revolution. I'll only be using Japanese for the terms and the technique names.

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The Battousai, Kenshin Himura, the man who slew hundreds of men to pave the way for the revolution, walked the streets. His amber eyes full of coldness scanned the area, noting that there were no more enemies, save the one he came to find. His sword, the blade that had slaughter hundreds, jingled at his side, the squeaky death knell was all that told many enemies of their approaching death. His duty to the Revolution, his part in this bloody war, the mindless slaughter of people was almost finished. But he couldn't walk away yet. There was something he had to do.

There was a man at the end of the street, with the same cold eyes, with nothing but the desire for battle. As the one who approached him, he knew his part in the Revolution was winding down, his enemies winning. But a greater cause was not what brought these two men together, but a final duel. His own sword was in his hand, waiting for the blood of his opponent. He smirked at the approach of the Battousai. This man's name was Saitou Hajime.

Tonight, these two warriors, mortal enemies, would face each other for the last time in this era. This final midnight crossing of their paths would hopefully be the last.

"Good evening, Battousai." Saitou greeted cordially.

"Good evening, Saitou." Kenshin greeted, nodding his head, gripping his sword tightly.

"Tonight we finish this." Saitou said, a tone of finality in his voice. He set himself up in the Gatotsu, the stance he favored, in which he held the blade with his left hand, holding it parallel to his head, with his right hand just above the tip.

"Indeed." Kenshin replied, his words ringing out like a bell tolling. He gripped the sword hilt tightly.

The following silence could have been thunder, stretching on with its echo for eternity. The moon was bright overhead, shining down upon the darkened street, illuminating the Battousai in light and cloaking Saitou in shadows.

A picturesque moment, a moment frozen in time for all eternity, repeated in past and future, two mortal enemies locked in combat. A moment of silence that spoke volumes.

And then it was broken.

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The Battousai went first, using his thumb to knock his blade loose, before unleashing the force of the Battojutsu, drawing his sword from his sheath with the god-like speed that made him infamous and feared.

But Saitou had crossed swords with Kenshin before, and struck back with the Gatotsu Ishiki at nearly the same speed, thrusting forward with his sword with incredible force.

The two swords hit, and the sound rang out like a starting bell, the angry screech of metal.

The force was equal, and the two blades stopped touching, their masters moving past each other in a race where the loser would die.

They tied, with Kenshin spinning around in time to block Gatotsu Zeroshiki, where Saitou spun around with immense speed and used a thrust with incredible power, despite the lack of leg power added in.

Kenshin was thrown back, but retained his footing, his amber eyes still emotionless, holding his blade at the ready.

Saitou smirked, his demon-like eyes eager for battle. He raised himself back up for the Gatotsu stance, with the blade once more parallel to his head and right hand above the tip.

Kenshin simply glared.

The Wolf of the Shinsengumi launched himself into the Gatotsu Ishiki once more, but the Battousai was ready, using his incredible speed to slide to the right, the weak point in the style, but the Wolf was well aware of weaknesses in his style, spinning around with minimum delay, enough to block Kenshin's slash with its momentum.

The two swords met in a cross, under the midnight moon. Once more, the two rivals locked in combat, neither side able to break stalemate they always ended up in.

Finally, Kenshin leapt back towards the wall of one shop, knowing that he had no advantage staying in the stalemate, but as soon as his feet touched the wall, he launched himself forward again in another slash.

Saitou slashed too, and both strikes connected to the other blade, and the opponents slid past each other once more.

An endless waltz of combat, neither warrior able to break the other's rhythm to make the final blow.

Saitou spun around, thrusting forward, but Kenshin leapt above him, holding his sword up high, and then came down using the Ryu Tsui Sen, a downward blow of incredible force.

The Wolf countered with the Gatotsu Sanshiki, an upwards thrust with his sword, but the Battousai blocked it, executing the downward blow in an effort to break Saitou's guard.

The two blows met in midair, another screech of protest from the metal of their swords, screaming in outrage with the abuse the two men were putting them through.

Saitou managed to throw Kenshin off to the side, but the infamous Hitokiri simply smirked, gaining his footing almost the second he touched the ground, stabbing his blade into the ground and thrusting outwards, creating a strong wind which fired off dust and rocks towards the Wolf, a perfectly executed Do Ryu Sen.

His rival dodged to the side, and the attack sent the rocks and dust straight into the shop Saitou had been standing behind, demolishing the wall with incredible force.

The Battousai wasn't even looking at the shop, running parallel to Saitou, sheathing his sword. They ran along the street for a while, until, by some strange knowledge, the two stopped at the same instant and came at each other once more.

Saitou went once more with the Gatotsu Ishiki, while Kenshin unleashed another Battojutsu, the infamous sword slash that gave him his name meeting the regularly used technique of the Wolf, both once more colliding and neither side gaining any ground in the fight.

This time, the force of the attack sent both men backwards, their swords outstretched to prevent cutting themselves, instead cutting into the walls of the shops with the razor sharp and thin blades, leaving thin slices in the walls.

They glared at each other once more, their bodies echoing their swords, screeching with the abuse the men were putting them through, but they ignored it. This was a fight to the death.

Kenshin moved with his godlike speed, right for Saitou, before he disappeared. Saitou, used to the immense speed of the Battousai, spun around and blocked the blow, the two of them stumbling back against the force of their blows.

Saitou broke it first and lashed out with his foot at the smaller man, who dodged to the side, glaring at him with his liquid gold eyes.

Each man could feel their blades ring and vibrate, damaged by the vicious battle the two had been through, and their bodies echoed it with unheard screams.

The two of them knew that their bodies and swords would not go on any longer, and that this final strike would have to be the defining blow of this final duel.

Kenshin readied himself in the Battojutsu again, holding himself in a crouch while grasping his hilt tightly.

Saitou went into the Gatotsu Ishiki, holding his blade in that familiar position once more.

Time seemed to pause for a moment, or an eternity. The two looked out at each other across the night and glare met glare, cold eyes met cold eyes. The time seemed to stretch out into the depths of infinity and yet last but a single moment.

The wind rustled around them, tickling their senses and whispering around them, like the whispers of the dead men they had both killed.

One of the walls fell down, the effects of the slash dealt by one of the swordsmen too much for it, and it collapsed inwardly.

Before it could finish falling, Kenshin had already lashed out with his Battojutsu, and Saitou with his Gatotsu Ishiki, the two blades heading for the opponent, whistling through the air, hungering for blood.

The blades met in mid air, forming that midnight cross once more, just for a moment, before the two of them snapped in half in a shower of glowing sparks and flashing shards of metal.

The Battousai stared at his now de-bladed blade, and Saitou did the same. The two looked up at each other, and knew the battle was finished. The onrushing sounds of reinforcements, but the two did not know from whose side came pouring through the night.

"Next time, Battousai." Saitou growled, vowing to himself as he turned away.

"Next time, Saitou." Kenshin agreed.

The two of them turned and walked away, dropping their ruined blades into the dirt and vowing that the next time they met, they would finish it.

They both also knew that it would never be finished, that they would forever be trapped in an endless dance of battle against one another, and that the midnight cross would be made again and again.

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AN: I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you did, please review!


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